Raymond Chiloane is not only for soccer- but for life

Daveyton in Benoni has unearthed a myriad of sports players and personalities. Some have gone on to achieve immensely in their chosen fields, while some have faded into obscurity and notoriety while still in the prime of their disciplines. RAYMOND CHILOANE has observed how fertile this region is with talented sports men and women. So he runs Daveyton School of Soccer with a few other interested people. He told Thembi Masser of his ambitions, of how parents’ lack of interest in the upbringing of their kids irks him, of how the inane infighting among sports administrators hamper many sports dreams, and of the authorities’ apathy towards his school.

The School of Soccer is run as a non-profit-making (NPO) entity by Chiloane and four other personalities. While their noble idea would receive plaudits elsewhere in the world, this group runs it without aid from either the Ekurhuleni metropolitan authority or the provincial government.  He is tired of nagging them; he shrugs, because he has spent countless kilometers being sent from pillar to post in their offices without much avail.

These men who run the school with him; Jones Malesoena, an advocate, Peter Legodi, the coach, Abram Mohlamonyane, an entrepreneur and an Unilever employee Freddie Mohlala, use their own private finances to run the school. They do not have a corporate sponsor, even though they are in the region dubbed ‘the workshop of Africa’, because it houses so many manufacturing factories in one place. Ekurhuleni also boasts the biggest, busiest international airport, the OR Tambo. Gauteng is where Africa’s money is printed.

But they are lucky to have Raymond Chiloane, 38; he is a hustler.  He is nonchalant about their appalling lack of finances. “The school will survive,” he asserts. He notes that they have been operating from 2010 and more than 50 boys have gone through their programmes. “I don’t see us stopping with our mission.”

He is passionate about the objectives of the school even though so many obstacles stand steadfastly in their way. It costs the school in the region of R2 500 to fund one 13 year-old in a year. “The most disheartening thing has been the attitude of their parents. They have no interest in what their children are ambitious about; they do not inquire about their progress, they do not attend any meetings nor do they volunteer to help around or raise funds for us.’

The schools’ objectives, among others, are to shape their dreams and to hone the sporting prowess of these young people and, to develop their life skills. This is a problem as well, because the school has no qualified officers in this regard. Malesoena sometimes helps with advice from time to time, “but this is not enough and scientific. It is thumb suck. It is fun though to work with these young people, it is challenging. You need to understand what they are doing and hoping to achieve.”    

The kids are not consistent, however. They come and then disappear for long periods, Chiloane complains. “Parents do not make sure that kids keep attending throughout. These parents, when their children attend in previously whites-only schools, adhere to every word in a sentence in the rules and regulations instructions. But they give scant regard to black-led organisations that seek to improve the lives of their kids.” He is adamant that the school wants to see the lives of these kids take shape from as early as age 13. “These kids have dreams; they need role models, they want more. If people like us do not intervene these kids might end up as junkies or dropping out of school.” He says the situation is so bad in areas like Daveyton. Parents have given up parenting their children. “They just go through the motions of bringing their children up; they have given up on them.”

Chiloane, after leaving school, worked as a cleaner at hospitals. First at Sunshine and then Arwyp. Later he became a payroll administrator. He attended Abenego Manana High in Daveyton where his love for commercial subjects has come in handy when he is busy running the school of soccer.

He says his heart bleeds for the kids. “We have no training kit, not proper playing fields and our training equipment is ramshackle. Yet, the Benoni and Springs Education Department play dirty politics when we want their endorsement in arranging tournaments to honour past soccer legends in order to draw attention to our situation.” He says luminaries like Aaron ”Shaka” Nkosi, the former Benoni United mesmerising winger agreed to lend their names to these tournaments but these football dragging bodies are only interested in petty bickering.    

          

Apart from Nkosi, the region has produced the likes of Pollen Ndlanya who has played his soccer abroad, Isaac Shai who has won plenty at Mamelodi Sundowns and Innocent Mayoyo played for almost all the Premier Soccer League teams. The list is endless. On the other hand, talented players like Junior Khanye, Jabu Mahlangu and Skapie Mahlatsi also mesmerised audiences but fame dribbled their heads and before they could blossom they withered into obscurity.

“Fame, unwarranted publicity and the inability to handle money are a curse for players whose life skills are blunt.”      

And here is Raymond Chiloane